1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print color predicting apparatus, a print color predicting method, and a recording medium having a program recorded therein for predicting color reproduction of a protective-film-covered print, i.e., a print that is covered with a protective film.
2. Description of the Related Art
With significant advances in inkjet technology in recent years, it is becoming possible for inkjet printers to produce large color prints of high quality at high speeds. Inkjet printers are not only popular for private or home use, but also are widely used in commercial applications nowadays. Inkjet printers make it possible to print on POP (Point Of Purchase) posters, wall posters, large-size mediums such as outdoor advertisements and billboards, roll mediums, and thick hard mediums.
There are a wide variety of print mediums (hereinafter also referred to as “mediums”) available for use in prints to meet various commercial demands. For example, such print mediums include paper mediums such as synthetic paper, thick paper, aluminum-evaporated paper, etc., resin mediums such as vinyl chloride, PET, etc., and tarpaulin paper made of a woven fiber cloth with synthetic resin films applied to both surfaces thereof.
Since advertisement prints are expected to be effective to arouse consumers' motivation to buy advertised products through visual sensation, the finish of colors of the prints is of particular importance. Heretofore, there have been disclosed various color matching technologies such as a method of generating an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile, a method of adjusting a designated color, etc., as print color managing means.
Advertisement prints are displayed in a variety of places including outdoor areas, indoor areas, and spotlighted exhibition sites. Generally, the spectral characteristics (spectral energy distribution) of environmental light as an observational light source for prints vary depending on the different places where the prints are displayed.
If different observational light sources are used with prints, then since the spectral light characteristics that are emitted from the different observational light sources and ultimately reach the retina of a human observer are different, the appearance (color impression) of the print, which is visually perceived by the observer, tends to vary depending on the observational light sources, although this tendency may differ from observer to observer. As a consequence, if the observational environment in which a print is produced, i.e., the location where the printer is installed, and the observational environment in which the print is displayed are significantly different from each other, then the print may possibly fail to exhibit desired colors.
As one solution to the above problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-081586 discloses a method of and an apparatus for storing spectral data of prints and a plurality of light source spectral data independently of each other, and for generating a profile appropriate for an observational light source each time that the observational light source is established. It is stated in the publication that the disclosed method and apparatus make it possible to generate a profile corresponding to each observational light source with a reduced number of colorimetric steps, and to manage colors of prints depending on observational light sources.
Prints produced by inkjet printers are likely to fail to withstand use in vigorous environments because the images on the prints are not durable enough, and in particular, they lack abrasion resistance and toughness.
For example, color images on inkjet prints tend to be discolored gradually at display sites that are constantly exposed to highly intensive radiant light, since the pigments contained in the inks are gradually decomposed by chemical reactions. In a display mode on indoor floors, color images on inkjet prints are liable to become damaged, because the surfaces of the prints come into contact with and are rubbed by people walking on the floors.
It has been customary to make color images on inkjet prints more durable by covering image-formed surfaces of the prints with a protective film such as a laminating film, which includes an ultraviolet absorbent added thereto, or which is mechanically processed by embossing or the like.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 06-246881 discloses a protective-film-covered print, i.e., a print with a protective film applied to an image-formed surface thereof. It is stated in the publication that the protective film makes the print less permeable and resistant to scratching and alcohol, thereby increasing the quality of the print surface.